[supersloth]

yeah but you're racist.

[no2pencil]

If you white, then you Ben Affleck.

[stewmeat95]

public forum debater huh? yes, i know

[BenignDesign]

Plz to be 'splaining who j00 are and why j00 in teh thread posting j00r stoopid?

At least my stupid is semi-relevant to the conversation. Sometimes.

[NeoTifa]

@no2 shut it "Reindeer Games"!

[Predictor]

PsychoCoder, on 24 March 2010 - 10:22 AM, said:

If you think discrimination/racism has changed at all in the last 150 years you are truly blind and brainwashed my friend.

"At all"? I would agree that there is still racism in America today, but to assert that it has not changed "at all" seems a reach. 150 years ago, vast numbers of blacks were in legalized slavery, whereas today the President of the United States is half black: This strikes me as an enormous change. Americans have a long way to go, but I think one would be hard pressed to back up the claim that racism has changed not "at all".

[Bort]

I'm white, male, single, have no kids and am not disabled...I don't stand a chance in today's society, simply because I'm not a minority or have special needs.

One of our MPs (members of parliament in case you didn't know, think like congress), a woman, is campaigning to ensure that 50% of all accepted candidates for jobs in parliament/government are female. Why? Because females are 'under-represented' completely ignoring the fact that an MP is meant to be representing EVERYONE in their constituency, not just the men, and because there aren't enough women in parliament. Could that be because more men apply for those roles than women?

If I applied for housing from the council, I would be put on the bottom of the list because a family of Asians has priority because they are a minority.

It doesn't matter what qualifications I have/get, if there is a foreigner applying for the job, they get it, doesn't matter if they are equally qualified as me, the company has 'equal opportunities' targets to meet. Equal opportunities my ass. Black people are fast tracked through management courses and given pay rises and management roles. Why? Because they are competent at their job and would make excellent managers...No, but rather because they are black and everyone is an equal opportunities employer.

Now, contrary to what my rant might suggest, I'm not at all racist. I just think equal opportunities should mean exactly that.

So far as hate crimes go, I'm with capty99 on that score. All the concept of hate crime is doing is spreading the idea that not everyone is equal.

[mostyfriedman]

hand in hand we can live together ginger or not we're all the same, black or white, brown or red, we shouldn't kill each other because its lame.

[NeoTifa]

And gingers do have souls, mkay?!

[BenignDesign]

There is no documented proof of this "fact".

[NeoTifa]

I have a soul, and I'm pretty ginger.

[BenignDesign]

BenignDesign, on 25 March 2010 - 12:56 PM, said:

There is no documented proof of this "fact".

[xor-logic]

Bort, on 25 March 2010 - 02:11 PM, said:

I'm white, male, single, have no kids and am not disabled...I don't stand a chance in today's society, simply because I'm not a minority or have special needs.

I sometimes feel like this. I wonder if I've missed out on any jobs because I chose to complete the option "self-identification" form when applying, identifying myself as a young white male.

Affirmative action wasn't really a perfect fix when it was created, and things HAVE changed since then. A black man is president of the United States (awesome!), and there is considerable social pressure to end discriminatory business practices, and those that don't are often hit with gigantic lawsuits. Is this enough to keep them in line? Without affirmative action, would we revert to segregation? I think not.

[keakTheGEEK]

My father is African American, my mother is half Italian and the other half Irish and German. For the most part, when people look at me, they see a light skinned black male. I definitely feel that I identify with the Black community, for the record...

I have read all of your comments so far on this topic. Some of your opinions I agree with others I disagree with, but generally speaking it sounds like a lot of your comments and opinions lack any direct experience with being a victim of discrimination, someone elses prejudices, racism etc. (I could be wrong, but that's just what it sounds like to me...)

@PsychoCoder, I have to say that I am extremely impressed with a lot of your comments. You show a lot of compassion and understanding. To the very few ladies who have posted on this topic, I wouldn't be surprised if you've been discriminated against before based on your gender and I'm sorry if you, or anyone for that matter, has ever felt like they've been discrinimated against. It is one of the worst feelings to have ever felt...

In my opinion, I feel that the best way to put a damper on discrimination (I don't know if it will truly ever go away) is through diversity. To me diversity is the key to undo any prejudices, stereotypes that one cultural group may have against another. To experience through diversity that any race, gender, or cultural group can achieve the exact same things as anyone else, given the opportunity.

Unfortunately, the reality is that we live in a society where generations over generations minority groups have been oppressed of having these equal opportunities. We have come to a point to where it is necessary to have policies in place to enforce diversity to achieve equal opportunity.

I do agree that affirmative action, when implemented, does contradict what it is trying to achieve. It is essentially using discrimination to fight discrimination. But this has alway been the case ever since affirmative action was first implemented. Affirmative Action is definitely not the perfect solution but, unless anyone can think of a better alternative, I think it does work a lot better in achieving diversity and equal opportunity than doing nothing at all.

[keakTheGEEK]

Nykc, on 24 March 2010 - 10:57 AM, said:

Well maybe if they would let more "whites" become pimps, players and hustlers we can stop the discrimination.

Affirmative action fails.

You would be surprised at how many white pimps, players and hustlers there really are. Very rich ones at that. I'm sure you've heard of Hugh Hefner...